MIKABEN. The singer Michaël Benjamin, known as Mikaben, figure of the Haitian music scene, died Saturday after a malaise in the middle of a concert on the stage of the Accor Arena, at only 41 years old.
Haitian singer Michael Benjamin, alias Mikaben, died on Saturday October 15, 2022 during a concert at the Accor Arena in Paris, alongside the group Carimi.
Mikaben short biography
Born in 1981 in Port-au-Prince, Michael Benjamin, better known as Mikaben, was the son of another singer, Lionel Benjamin. Passionate about music from an early age, he wrote his first song at 15. Michael Benjamin played piano, guitar, bass and drums. First nicknamed Mika, then Mikaben, the artist had founded the group Krézi Mizik, then collaborated with the group Carimi, notably on songs like Buzz, Fanm its move and Baby I Missed You or I Miss You in 2013. In 2016, Mikaben signed with Warner Music France, with the song Ti Pam Nan.
Who was Mikaben’s wife?
Singer Michael Benjamin, who died on Saturday October 15 at the age of 41, leaves behind thousands of fans and his wife, Vanessa Fanfan. On social networks, after the announcement of the death of her husband, she posted on social networks this message: “I just lost my other half and I no longer have the words”, on a black background. “Thank you for your prayers, but please stop calling me. I’m in no condition to speak at all,” she adds.
With Carimi, Michael Benjamin was to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the group, Saturday October 15, on the stage of the Accor Arena, in Paris. Six years after their separation, the cult formation had invited the Haitian singer to find his fans in the Parisian arena. But the evening turned to drama: Mikaben, while performing his hit Or Patifelt unwell on stage shortly before 11 p.m.
“It’s very complicated,” Mickael Guirand told the 10,000 people present in the crowd. “We need prayers”, for Mikaben. The concert was interrupted and the room evacuated. The emergency services quickly arrived on the spot, but could not resuscitate the singer. Victim of a heart attack, he was pronounced dead an hour later. Michael Benjami, alias Mikaben, was 41 years old.
After Mikaben’s death, the tributes
The announcement of the sudden disappearance of Michael Benjamin has sparked a wave of tributes on social networks. “I am devastated by the news of the sudden death of the young and very talented artist Michael Benjamin ‘Mikaben’. He is a great reference in Haitian music who has just passed away,” writes Ariel Henry, Prime Minister of Haiti. , on Twitter, sending his condolences “to his family, friends and the music community at large.”
“Last night during the Carimi concert, one of the singers, Michael Benjamin, Mikaben by his artist name, died following an illness that occurred on stage and despite the intervention of the emergency services. The whole team of The Accor Arena is terribly affected and sends all its support to his family and loved ones in this painful ordeal. Our thoughts also go to Claude Cyndecki, his producer, as well as to his fans, shocked by this sudden disappearance, “wrote in a press release posted on the Accor Arena’s Twitter.